​Serie A is always won by Juventus now since the Milan clubs' fall from grace & it just gets more and more boring by the season right? Well that’s how the story usually goes...

With many claiming the Premier League is the most competitive league in the world they should be instead shining a light on Serie A with Italy’s top flight being the only one of Europe’s top 5 leagues where the league title isn’t all but done & dusted.

A Napoli side spearheaded with often overlooked world class talents including Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik & co. currently sit surprisingly 4 points ahead of Juventus at the top of Serie A.

Let’s take a closer look at Serie A’s intriguing title race:

Napoli:The side from Naples are looking for their first Scudetto since Maradona guided Gli Azzurri to their 2nd Serie A title back in 1989-90. Napoli currently sit 4 points ahead of 2nd place Juventus (as mentioned earlier in the article) although Juve have a game in hand on Monday against 15th place Genoa. Napoli aren’t lacking in goalscoring currently boasting the 5thh highest scorer in the league in Belgian Dries Mertens although even with players like Mertens, Insigne & Hamsik Napoli are the lowest scoring side in the top 3.

Napoli have a world class defence at their disposal having the fewest goals conceded in Serie A this season with defenders such as Kalidou Koulibaly, former Real Madrid centre back Raul Albiol & Faouzi Ghoulam. Napoli haven’t replicated their domestic success into continental competition coming third in a UEFA Champions League group consisting of Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk & Feyenoord. The January transfer window hasn’t been to busy for Napoli although they have been heavily linked with Manchester United’s Matteo Darmian & Atletico Madrid’s Sime Vrsaljko.

Juventus:Juve have won the last 6 Scudettos with great ease but it’s looking like the Turin side will need to start a mid season resurgence if they want a 7th. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly has gone wrong for Massimiliano Allegri’s side this season as they still have a full squad of world class talent including Giangluigi Buffon, Douglas Costa, Paulo Dybala, Gonazlo Higuain & midfield anchormen like Blaise Matuidi, Sami Khedira & Miralem Pjanic. Maybe it’s just been Napoli’s sheer class that’s thrown Juventus off of their thrown.

Although Juventus are trailing now in Sarri’s first season in charge of Napoli they were 2 points clear of Juventus at the turn of the year but ended up trailing Juve by 9 at the end of the season. Juventus are currently the 2nd highest scoring team in Serie A with their top scorer being Paulo Dybala with 14 goals. Last years UCL finalists will look to the Argentinean for some magic in their quest for the Scudetto.

Lazio & Inter Milan:The dark horses of the Italian title race. Inter Milan where looking like they were going to bring us our first 3 horse race in Italy I can remember since the days of Milan & Inter going up against Juve but it’s all crumbled to bits for the Nerazzurri. At one point this season they were 1/2 unbeaten sides in Europe alongside Valverde’s Barcelona but Inter haven’t won a game since the 12th December - a 5-4 win over Pordenone in the Coppa Italia.

Then there’s Lazio. Lazio are one place ahead of Inter (although level on points) with a game to the good. Lazio are the highest scoring team in Serie A (although they have conceded the most in the top 5). In my opinion if they had a more sturdy defence to go alongside one of the most inform strikers in Europe - Ciro Immobile - they would have a much greater chance in this exciting title race although they currently sit 11 points off top spot alongside Inter.

Gianluigi Buffon is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Of course, at 39 years of age, he is nowhere near in his prime. Despite his age, the Juventus captain is still a great keeper. What I want to look at, is whether it's time for Gigi Buffon to end such a prestigious career at a currently failing Juventus.

Juventus are a huge team, the modern giants of Italy, but, I feel, they aren't quite living up to that stupendous title. Currently sitting in 3rd, despite being only 2 points off 1st place, I still don't think they are living up to expectations. Considering the players they have in the squad, they should be dominating a league so tight at the moment.

​Since 2001, Buffon has made 498 apps as a Juve player and has helped his team achieve so much and his loss would cause a massive blow to their team. In terms of replacements, Juventus would need to fork out a large sum of money for the right man; backup goalkeeper, Norberto Neto wouldn't be a bad temporary keeper but there's one man that I feel could fill the gap: Gigio Donnarumma.

Yes, you know who he is, the young wonder-keeper has so much potential but can yet already play the part as an outstanding 1st team goalkeeper. This brilliant video from 'colo99' shows just how special this 18-year-old boy is.

Donnaruma, who plays for rivals AC Milan has a £88m release clause, which I would think is fair, considering that number will grow rapidly in the near future but Juventus should act quickly, as PSG are currently in talks to sign the future 'best goalkeeper'. With the money Paris has got, what they say, goes.

What it would mean for Gigi

Really, he would have finished an outstanding career at the club (after already retiring from national team football) and with a whack load of cash in his pocket. Buffon says he WILL retire at the end of this season UNLESS Juventus win the Champions League. They aren't exactly favourited to win the UCL but did make it to last years final against Real Madrid.

In my opinion, it's time to give the gloves up, he's done so well as a keeper and the time is right to end it at the season, regardless of his club's results. Tell me your opinions by tweeting me @samjsneddon.

​Beneventuro have been in awful form this season - up until today they've secured 0 points from 14 games in Serie A. Many predicted that an away fixture against AC Milan would bring the same result for Beneventuro as all their other games this season: defeat.

AC Milan scored the first goal of the game before Beneventuro equalised in the 50th minute, only for Milan to go back in front just 7 minutes later. A 75th minute sending-off of an AC Milan player provided hope for the newly-promoted side, however as the game approached the 90 minute mark it seemed as though Benevnturo were heading for another loss.

In the 5th minute of stoppage time Beneventuro were awarded a freekick in a dangerous position, and even their goalkeeper went up to try to help his team get a late goal. This risk paid off as the goalkeeper, Alberto Birgnoli, managed to get his head onto the ball and direct it straight into the bottom corner!

What a moment for Birgnoli, and what a moment for Beneventuro! Shame they'll get relegated, though...

​Renato Sanches sprung to notoriety last summer when he signed with Bayern Munich for €35 million – a fairly hefty sum for a relatively unknown teenager. Less than one month later, he was off to France to play in the 2016 European Championship where he eventually helped Portugal win the entire competition.

The then 18-year-old played outstandingly and displayed just how much better he was than what his age suggested. He was extremely strong physically and had the body of someone in their mid-twenties who had spent hours upon hours in the gym. He also had a fairly decent understanding of the game for such a young head, as well as having the technical ability to survive at many of Europe’s top clubs. He really was an exciting prospect.

After that brilliant summer, people expected Sanches to hit the ground running at Bayern. But he didn’t. Last season the midfielder made just 6 starts in the league for the German champions and throughout the entire season he didn’t score a single goal or make an assist.

The Portuguese teenager is without doubt a talented player despite the disappointment of last season. Perhaps the move from his boyhood club Benfica to Bayern Munich was made a little too early, and maybe he needed a couple more years to develop and gain confidence in his own ability.

Anyway, Renato Sanches has attracted a lot of attention this transfer window, as explained by Bayern’s CEO: “there are at least ten teams after Sanches.” Some of these teams are yet to be named, but one of the clubs who has been named is Chelsea. Bayern’s CEO said that Conte has asked for some information about the 19-year-old after he put in an impressive display against the Blues in pre-season.

Other clubs rumoured to be interested in Sanches include AC Milan and Manchester United, however, these are just rumours at the moment.

One thing I must stress is that Bayern have said if Renato Sanches does leave, it’ll almost certainly be on loan. So perhaps we could see him make a move to a team like AC Milan where he will get more game time than at Bayern, and hopefully he’ll be able to develop. I could even imagine him at Chelsea. Not only would the extra minutes help him, but also the experience of working with a different set of coaching staff should go a long way to helping him become an even better player.

I personally think he should make the most of this opportunity he has to go on loan. In all honesty it doesn’t really matter where he goes – the main thing is that he gets enough game time to prove that he’s still the same player we saw shock the world during the Euros.

This article is written by Chelsea fan George. Check him out on Twitter@georjecb.

​Gianluigi Donnarumma has received a lot of abuse lately, and in all honesty I think it's (mostly) unjust. In case you're not aware, it recently came out that Donnarumma has decided not to renew his contract at AC Milan which ends in 2018. Shortly after this news came to light, social media went mad at the 18-year-old calling him everything under the sun - one of the phrases I saw most regularly was 'money-grabbing snake'.

Now, if fans of AC Milan want to be annoyed and feel as though they're being betrayed by one of their own, then fair enough. But the whole football world has jumped on his back. Not only has he received verbal abuse, but he's also been taunted, had fake money thrown at him while playing for Italy and has even been sent death threats. No player deserves that, and especially not a teenager.

One of the main attacks on Donnarumma has been the argument that no young player playing for their boyhood club should leave for money. Firstly, if he left, it wouldn't be for money - he'd be leaving for trophies. Not every player wants to have a career where you're considered a one-club man and legend, without winning much silverware. Although AC Milan are a decent side going in the right direction, there's no guarantee that they'll get back to the stage they were a decade ago, so there's a high chance he could retire without a single trophy to his name. Zlatan is allowed to leave his boyhood club Malmo, yet Donnarumma can't do the same? It's ridiculous. Loyalty in football should be admired, but it shouldn't be something every player has to strive for.

Lastly, Gianluigi Donnarumma's agent is Mino Raiola. This is the same guy who manages the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. If you're Raiola, you want your best players to always be on the move so you get as much money via agent fees as possible. I'm not saying his agent made the decision for him, but you can bet he had a big say in Donnarumma's choice not to sign a new contract.

All I'm saying is that I think we should cut Donnarumma some slack. After all, he's only 18.

Alvaro Morata is set to join Man United for a reported £65 million... but will he replace Zlatan? Poet and Vuj discuss this, Lacazette to Arsenal, Verratti to Barcelona and more of the transfers and rumours in this week's Comments Below Transfer Special!

Before I begin, I don't claim to be an expert in Italian football. I'm writing this article as a research exercise more than anything - but don't let this deter you, as everything I write will be factually accurate and I'll try to provide the best insight I can.

Italy was arguably the epicentre of football in Europe during an era (the 90s) which saw some of the world's best talents play in places like Milan and Turin. Long gone are the days of Italian dominance on the football field though - and the fall from grace has been most severe in Milan. Juventus have certainly capitalised on the lack of competition in Italy, but their days of supremacy may be numbered. Last season the two Milan clubs took up the 6th and 7th spots in the Serie A which doesn't seem to show any sign of improvement. But behind the scenes and on the field, things have been gradually changing for both Inter and AC Milan.

Inter have a fantastic squad. Their attacking line is lead by Icardi, a very prolific striker who also wears the captain's armband despite being just 24-years-old. They also have the likes of Ivan Perisic who's wanted by Man United (and rightly so, because he's quality). I don't want to sit and name all of their top players but you get the idea - they have a lot of good players. AC Milan, on the other hand, don't have quite as strong a squad but they do have Gianluigi Donnarumma who's the youngest player to make his debut for the Italy squad in over 100 years - he's also been dubbed as the next best 'keeper in the world.

Not only are the Milan clubs in a good position in terms of personnel, but they're both under very rich Chinese ownership. So they have the financial power to keep hold of their top players and also acquire the players necessary to take them to the next level.

A very exciting few years awaits Italian football and I can't wait to see a potential shift in power - as much as I like Juve, I'd also like to see a bit more competition in Italy.

Mohamed Salah has been heavily linked with a move away from AS Roma, and Liverpool are currently leading the race to sign him. In fact, they're miles ahead of any other teams in terms of negotiations.

Just two days ago Liverpool had a £28m bid for the Egyptian rejected, but they have reportedly now stepped up the bidding and made an offer of €40m - this is according to journalist Mohamed Alkawaleny, who works for beINSPORTS.He tweeted: "Mohamed Salah officially joins Liverpool 40 million euros.” Please note there have not yet been any official announcements from either club, the player or any of the major news organisations - so take this with a pinch of salt.

Salah has played Premier League football before - after impressing Chelsea while playing for Basel in the Champions League, the London club signed him later that season. He didn't play particularly well for Chelsea, although in fairness he wasn't given much of a chance by Jose Mourinho. He was subsequently loaned out to Fiorentina, and later was loaned to fellow Italian side AS Roma - this move was then made permanent at the start of the 2016/17 season for €15m (roughly the same fee Chelsea paid for the winger).

Just one season later Salah finds himself the subject of a potential €40m move. Like I said, nothing has been officially confirmed yet but even the likes of Sky Sports have been reporting that the deal is close to completion, so it looks very likely. I'm rating this transfer with a 8/10 chance of happening - the only reason it might not happen is because the window technically hasn't opened yet, so the player still has one month to try to back-out of any agreements that may or may not have been made.

​I, like many other football fans, have been completely consumed by the hype surrounding Totti recently. Every other post I see on Instagram is a picture of the Italian with an artsy filter and some sort of profound caption. This article was initially going to be an attempt at trying to prove why Totti isn't as good as everyone thinks, which lead to me conducting some research on the Italian. This is when I found out just how magnificent he actually is.

The first thing I noticed when I jumped onto Wikipedia (admittedly, this is my primary source for stats) was that Francesco Totti has scored 307 career goals for AS Roma. Throughout his 25 year playing career he's featured mainly as a playmaker or number 10, but for a five-year spell he did play as a striker. To rack up over 300 goals without playing as the primary striker for much of his career is an incredible statistic. I also must add that 71 of these goals came from the penalty spot - yes, it's a lot, but that still leaves 230 goals that were scored in open play.

One of the best things about Totti (and probably the main reason why he's adored by football fans world-wide) is just how long he's been playing. When a 16 year old starts playing first-team football, people usually assume that they'll naturally 'burn out' faster and will end up retiring aged 33/34. But not Totti. He's done the exact opposite and has continued playing at the highest level into his forties. Not only has he remained in the Italian top-flight, but he's also stayed at Roma for the whole time. This sort of loyalty isn't displayed an awful lot in football nowadays, so it's yet another reason for the iconic footballer to receive legendary status not only in Rome, but across the globe.

Francesco played his final game for AS Roma against Genoa in the final round of the Serie A on Sunday 28th May, 2017. Regardless of the result (Roma won 3-2), this marks the end of an era. Aside from Gianluigi Buffon, Totti is one of the last players from the 90s era of Italian football to retire. His career hasn't exactly been littered with trophies, but that's one of the few draw-backs of being a one-club man (as I'm sure Steven Gerrard would admit). That's not me trying to take anything away from him, though - he's had an outstanding career.

The term 'legend' is thrown around a lot these days, but I can assure you that a man who's played at the highest level for 25 years, won multiple club trophies including Serie A and won the World Cup is a certified legend. Thanks for all the memories, Francesco.

With the Champions League Final between Real Madrid & Juventus coming up shortly, the guys from Italian Football TV discuss whether or not the nation of Italy should get behind Juve in their latest effort to win Europe's most coveted trophy.